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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23004250">Telephone</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bimothra/pseuds/bimothra'>bimothra</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Canon, F/M, Hero Team Who Thought They Lost All Hope Loses Additional Bit Of Hope They Didn't Know They Had, carol x gar isn't the focus this story is just following canon so i have to write it, post-dark plaza, pre-big reveal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 09:21:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,010</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23004250</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bimothra/pseuds/bimothra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Rippy Roo had actually found the coffee shop lab?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Carol/Eugene "Gar" Garcia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Telephone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There was a game Carol used to play as a kid.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Giggling, one kid would whisper to another, and so on, until an entire circle had heard a message. At that point, the message would be entirely distorted, misunderstood by so many people. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carol wondered if that’s all this was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One screwed-up, giant game of telephone. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>It had been Tuesday when she had gotten the call. She had Foxtail’s number saved in her phone, so she recognized the caller ID immediately. She had assumed it was about another secret mission for P.O.I.N.T, as that was all Foxtail seemed to call in for nowadays, but when she picked up, a very different sight awaited her. Not only was Foxtail there, but Greyman and- Rippy Roo?! She hadn’t seen Rippy in years! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Rippy?!” She yelled, as Foxtail took out her other hand to still Carol’s cries.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now, Carol, this may be a shock t’you, but Rippy called us all here to say… she did it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did… it?” Carol mumbled. She was more confused than ever, and Foxtail’s vague skirting around details wasn’t helping. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She found the donut shop.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carol nearly dropped her phone. The donut shop. There was only one missing donut shop that all four of them knew of, and that was the one that had been shrunk or teleported or whatever 6-11 years ago. The shop itself wasn’t important. An unknown lair of an unknown villain, Greyman had called it. What mattered to them was who was inside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The donut shop? Do you mean… After all these years, Laser could still be…?” Carol leaned closer, waiting for an answer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Buh buh buhbuh buh!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Rippy says not to get your hopes up too high, sugar cube. Just head on over to P.O.I.N.T Labs. I want us all to be together for this,” Foxtail said, translating for Rippy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carol gave her a look. “That means Gene too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Foxtail sighed. “Yes, Gar too.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite the fact that Foxtail had stopped her corrupted Glorb practices, she still wasn’t fond of Eugene, though there were times when Carol wondered if Foxtail regretted pinning it all on him way back then… Especially now that Laser might still be alive. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good. I’ll be there as quick as I can,” Carol replied, hanging up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mommy? What were you and Miss Foxtail talking about?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carol spun around in surprise. “Gah! Peanut! How long were you standing there?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>KO sat on a couch arm, swinging his legs back and forth. “You don’t gotta worry about secret P.O.I.N.T stuff anymore, remember?” He smiled, and Carol gave a gentle smile back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, KO… I’m sorry. There’s so much about P.O.I.N.T… About Laser that I’m not sure you’re ready for yet.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, kiddo! Foxtail just needs me at the labs for a bit. Here. I’ll call Judy,” Carol replied, rubbing her son’s hair affectionately while preparing to make her second call of the day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After Judy had arrived (and after she had made a third phone call to let Gene know), Carol and Eugene were well on their way to P.O.I.N.T labs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carol squeezed her former coworker’s shoulder. “Gene. You’re all red. Are you really that nervous?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...I don’t know, Carol. I should be happy, right? Laser was our teammate… Our friend.” He paused, and gave Carol a reassuring smile, but she knew it was just for her sake and not his own. “And… If he’s still alive, then maybe I didn’t… I didn’t…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sighed, putting his head in his hands. “What if he hates me?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carol was quiet for a long time. “Gene… You know that’s not true. He’ll love you just the same. Same as he always did. Don’t you remember? All those times the three of us goofed off at the pizza place…” She laughed to herself fondly, but Eugene just groaned louder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I always tagged along because of you, Carol! It was a horrible thing to do! </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>horrible </span>
  </em>
  <span>person! I didn’t care that you were dating… I let my insecurities get the best of me. And I think Laser would know that too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s true. You were horrible.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Wh-what?” Gene looked genuinely surprised. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Gene I knew back then was sweet, and kind, and gentle… but he let that sandwich get the best of him. I’m not mad, Gene. Because that’s not you anymore. You’ve changed… You’re better now. I never would have said yes to dating you if I didn’t believe that.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gene adjusted his glasses. It was his turn to be quiet for a while.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...What if Laser changed too?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ll never find out if you don’t go.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They squeezed each others’ hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re here,” Carol said, unlocking the car doors. She beckoned Gar to follow her to the large building Foxtail had sent her directions to. The giant P.O.I.N.T Labs sign made it pretty hard to miss, but it was nice having a map either way. She pushed open the door, and followed the halls down to a sign that said ‘Lab 3’. The door was the biggest by far, and Carol and Gar could both easily fit at the same time. They emerged in a gigantic lab space. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wow, Foxtail! You’ve got a really huge place here!” Carol said, adding an impressed whistle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Foxtail nodded. “We had to book the biggest lab there was. Gotta grow a donut shop, after all. Now, you two come sit down and grab some safety goggles.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Always the first step in the lab!” Greyman chimed in helpfully, pointing to his own goggles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, where are they? ...Rippy and the donut shop, I mean?” Carol asked, slipping her goggles on and making sure her headband was on tight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rippy hopped up into Carol’s lap, hugging her enthusiastically. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“RIPPY!” For a moment, getting Laserblast back didn’t even matter. After all, it was like she had lost Rippy for a while there, too! “What have you been doin’ for all these years?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Buh buhbuh babababa!” Rippy explained, showing Carol a picture on her phone of Rippy enthusiastically attending a graduation ceremony.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wow, uh… C-congratulations, Rippy!” Gene gave a nervous thumbs up, clearly still intimidated at everything that was about to go down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rippy gave a nod of appreciation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So you’ve been trying to bring him back after all this time… Oh, Rippy… Now look at us. All your hard work really paid off…” Carol said, muffling her happy sobs with another hug. After they were done, Rippy hopped back onto the floor. She urged the others to stay back, then reached a hand into her pouch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had placed it in a convenient spot, apparently, as her glove came out of the pocket slowly. She pulled out a pair of magnifying goggles and cupped her gloves together, walking up to a microscope and placing it there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Buh buh!” She called, waggling a hand in Greyman’s direction. Greyman enthusiastically rolled himself over to her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, is it my turn? Alright, let me see here…” Greyman muttered, sticking his eye into the microscope. “...Yup! That’s our donut shop!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Foxtail put a hand on Greyman’s shoulder. “So? What’s the situation, doc?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, judging by the relative size and how long the shop’s spent in the quantum world… Rippy, the time, it slows down there, no?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rippy nodded. “Buh buhbuh buhbuhbuhbuh!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, that Mecha-maw! Just as I suspected… Time stays the same at first, but the longer you spend in there, the more time dilates... El-Bow, could you hand me my calculator?” Greyman made a grabby motion in Gene’s direction, and he nervously grabbed a machine Foxtail had passed to him, giving it to Greyman in the world’s most scientific game of hot potato.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mhm… Yeees… I see… Ah!” Greyman looked up. “Judging by my calculations, with the spare donuts in the shop the unknown villain never cleared out, along with the time dilation, there is a 99% of Laserblast being alive in there! Just very very small!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group cheered. Carol and Foxtail swung each other around happily, as Gene chuckled nervously. Rippy gave him a pat on the back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, doctor? I think we’ve got just what we need to SAVE OUR MAN!” Foxtail yelled, pumping her fist. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“ABSOLUTELY!” Greyman replied, moving as fast as his wheelchair could take him to the far wall. He flipped a switch, and a massive object came descending down from the ceiling. “I put this bad boy into retirement after I heard Laser had gone quantum, but it might just come in handy yet!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, everyone. Stand back, now. There’s gonna be a lot of space occupied,” Foxtail urged her fellow members, who all huddled close to the wall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“READY!” Greyman called out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“FIVE!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rippy silently thanked all her professors for getting her this far. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“FOUR!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Foxtail couldn’t wait for Elodie to meet Laserblast in person. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“THREE!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gene was sweating bullets. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“TWO!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carol was tearing up almost as much at the thought of seeing Laser again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“ONE!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The tiny donut shop stayed in its place.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“FIRE!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Greyman cranked another switch, and a blast of brilliant green light lit up the lab. The team all covered their eyes, but they could hear the sound of grumbling cement and growing dirt. With a loud CRASH, the counter the shop was on finally broke. The shop kept getting bigger, until finally, it stopped.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The green light cleared. There it was… the same as it had always been 6-11 years ago. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’ll be damned…” Foxtail whispered. “Carol, you wanna do us the honours?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I…” She looked around at her teammates, who all gave her a sympathetic look in return. She had been the closest to Laser, after all. “...Alright. But only if you guys insist.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She opened the door, trying not to wince at the sound of the bell. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The shop was a wreck. There was a cabinet with doors wrenched open. On the floor were dozens of glass cylinders, most of them broken. There was a bulletin board covered with papers on every part imaginable, save for one blank space in the center. There was a scorch mark there that looked oddly familiar. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were boxes of donuts, just like Greyman had predicted. They seemed unopened, though. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t like where this was going. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Laser?” She called out, hoping for an answer. “Laser…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The others stepped inside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Carol, what’s wrong?” Gene asked, tapping his fingers together nervously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s… Empty.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, that can’t be right!” Greyman called out, looking under boxes. “Even if he were dead, there’d be a body here!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Greyman!” Foxtail hissed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, but it’s true,” He finished with a shrug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Buh buh buhbuh buh buh,” Rippy added. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Foxtail grunted in agreement. “That’s right, Rippy. Even he wasn’t headstrong enough to leave through the front doors.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carol was silent. She was thinking long and hard about that day, that damn sandwich… She had been too busy getting angry at Gene to investigate </span>
  <em>
    <span>it </span>
  </em>
  <span>further…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She silently walked over to the right side of the store. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t get it! Where could he have gone?” Foxtail said, biting her nails. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe the quantum shift just dissolved him?” Greyman added, as helpful as he could. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Buh buh,” Rippy interjected.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not possible, huh… Then what?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Buh buh buhbuh!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, Rippy, he can’t have escaped through the front door. Carol n’ Gar were there!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Buh…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Carol, what do you think?” Foxtail asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Carol?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Foxtail turned to where Carol was, only to see she was kneeling at a large hole in the store. It was a large drainage pipe with the grate punched clean off. The grate was nowhere to be seen… meaning it wasn’t just an effect of the explosion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The unknown villain had an escape point. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The donut shop was empty.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>Laserblast escaped that night.</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s out there,” Carol said gravely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And he never told us.” </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, highways away, Professor Venomous had his arms wrapped around Boxman, sound asleep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blissfully unaware that P.O.I.N.T had just uncovered his game of telephone. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i hope you guys like this!! it was a short little one-off because i thought it would be really cool. what do you guys think? do you think discovering an empty donut shop would add a cool mystery element to the show? i enjoyed writing more POINT, but uh, i kinda went off on poor el-bow a bit kdhksdfksdhf, hes a very sweet boy but he had LITERALLY NO BUSINESS even TRYING to woo carol away. anyways, hope you like! enjoy the Rumination</p></blockquote></div></div>
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